THE BIG STORY

A 90-year-old woman from the UK has become the first person to receive Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine

Margaret Keenan turns 91 next week. The woman from Northern Ireland became the first person to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine outside of clinical trials, marking the start of the UK’s mass vaccination.

The roll out of the mass vaccination is a major milestone in the fight against a pandemic that has killed over a million people and changed life across the globe.

Keenan said, “I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19, it’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year.”

Her words are a tender reminder of a high cost of the COVID-19 pandemic: so many people have had to be separated from their friends and families. For those who have spent the year isolated, the arrival of a vaccine signals that hugs and good company are again on the way.

Another joyous thing you should know: the second patient to receive the vaccine is 81-year-old William Shakespeare from Coventry.

Margaret Keenan, 90, is applauded by staff as she returns to her ward after becoming the first person in the United Kingdom to receive the Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine. Getty Images

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

How ICE became the face of Trump’s immigrant crackdown, and where it goes from here after Biden is in charge

During Donald Trump’s term in office, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement garnered headlines for the perceived harshness toward immigrants or anyone — including mayors and governors — who disagreed with the agency’s aggressive new enforcement stance.

Now, as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office, the agency, which is responsible for immigration enforcement and deportations inside the nation’s borders, is at a crossroads, its reputation in tatters and the scope of its mission in question.

As one former ICE official put it to us, “Unfortunately, ICE put their MAGA hat on. They’re gonna try to take it off come January, but I don’t know how successful that will be.”

SNAPSHOTS

Kelly Loeffler repeatedly avoided saying Trump won during Georgia’s Senate debate. The Senator avoided acknowledging Biden’s win over Trump and continued to push conspiracy theories about the state’s voting systems during a debate against her Democratic opponent Rev. Raphael Warnock.

The Oregon nurse who bragged on TikTok about breaking COVID-19 restrictions is no longer employed at her hospital. Ashley Grames, an oncology nurse, is no longer employed with Salem Health after she posted a TikTok saying she was still traveling and not wearing a mask when she’s out during the pandemic.

Chuck Yeager, record-setting pilot and Twitter star, has died. The legend, who became the first pilot to travel faster than the speed of sound, has died at age 97. His most famous flight happened in 1947, in an experimental rocket plane dropped from the belly of a B-29 bomber — at the time, he was only 24 years old.

If you’ve worked in TV or film production during the pandemic, we want to hear from you. Working in TV and film has been particularly precarious this year, with productions starting and stopping because of COVID-19. Have you worked on set this year? We'd love to talk to you.

DISPUTE OVER EXPLANATION

Scientists are slamming a report saying microwave attacks could have caused “Havana Syndrome” in US diplomats

A long-awaited study released over the weekend found that a microwave attack is the “most plausible” explanation for an outbreak of mysterious injuries that dozens of US diplomats in Cuba reported three years ago.

Roughly 35 diplomats reported the mysterious injuries starting in late 2016, marring US diplomatic relations with Cuba for much of the last four years.

But here’s the thing: scientists who collaborated on the National Academies of Sciences report, commissioned by the US State Department, say that the finding about possible microwave attacks is far from conclusive.

Meanwhile, Outside experts on microwaves and the mysterious “Havana syndrome,” dismissed it as implausible. One scientist dubbed it “science fiction.”

TURNING A CORNER

He was laid off, but now takes stunning pictures of the diversity of Blackness

Cornell Watson started off the pandemic juggling a full-time job in human resources and conference calls with raising a 2-year-old with his wife. And then he was laid off.

The North Carolinian used that as an opportunity to dive deeper into his already successful side project in family photography, and develop it into something bigger.

The result? His work is now being featured in national newspapers and ad campaigns, and he is the recipient of an Alexia Grant for his personal work, a project called Behind the Mask.

We talked to Watson about how he turned a challenging year into national recognition for his work.

Cornell Watson

Wishing you find comfort in your resilience today,

Elamin